General

Our business hours are Monday through Friday, 9am – 5:30pm Central Standard Time. We are closed on all U.S. national holidays. Orders placed outside of these hours will be processed the next business day.

U.S. customers
We accept PayPal and the following credit/debit cards: American Express, Master Card and Visa. We also accept personal checks. If you are paying via check, please mail your check along with your order to Reentel International Inc., Attn: Hi-Tech Diamond, 808 Burr Oak Dr., Westmont, IL 60559. Once we receive the check, we will ship the same day.
Non-U.S. customers
We accept PayPal and the following credit/debit cards, only if the billing address matches the credit card address: American Express, Master Card and Visa.

U.S. customers
We offer USPS and UPS. By default, we always ship either USPS Priority Mail (if your order is small enough and contains no liquids) or UPS Ground unless a special service request is made. If you need a service other than our default shipping methods, we offer USPS Express Mail and UPS 3-Day Select™, 2nd Day Air® and Next Day Air®.
UPS DOES NOT SHIP TO P.O. BOXES.Non-U.S. customers
We offer USPS Express Mail. If your order requires a pallet, we offer air service from our carrier or your carrier of choice.

U.S. customers
We do our best to ship within 24 hours of receiving your order however, shipping is subject to order volumes and will be processed in the order placed. UPS Next Day Air, 2nd Day Air and 3 Day Select orders must be received by 12pm Central Standard Time or they will go out the following day.
Non-U.S. customers
We ship once we have all of the relevant customs details and shipping information in place. This process usually takes a few days from the time we receive your order.

When your order is ready to ship, we will send you an email using the email you provided us at check-out letting you know the date we are shipping and your tracking number so you know exactly what time and day your order will be delivered. The email address we use to send these tracking numbers are sales@hitechdiamond.com. Sometimes, our email may be marked as spam. Check your spam folder if you do not see an email from us within 1–2 days after placing an order. Also, in order to send you an email with your tracking number, you have to enter your email address when you check-out.

If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, you may return the item within 45 days of receiving it for an exchange or credit. Shipping charges will NOT be credited. Items must be in their original packaging and unused to be returned. Before returning, please call to inform us of the return. When returning, enclose the original invoice and the reason for the return with the items you are returning.

No. Due to the technical nature of our machines, we do not sell motors for you to install yourself. If you need a replacement motor for your Hi-Tech Diamond machine, our qualified technicians will install a new motor for you through our Repairs service.

Saw machines

A trim saw is used for cutting stones into preform shape, which is then followed by the grinding and polishing process. Saw blades that are used on trim saws are generally very thin because stones that need trimming are usually jewelry or gem quality (and hence expensive) so a thin cut wastes less valuable stone material. The Hi-Tech Diamond 4"/5" Trim saw and 6" Trim saw are considered trim saw machines.
A slab saw is used for larger rocks that either need to be cut into slabs for cabochons or cut down into smaller pieces for trimming. Saw blades that are used on slab saws are generally more thick because they are designed for heavier cutting. The Hi-Tech Diamond 10" Slab saw is considered a slab saw machine.

All Hi-Tech Diamond saw machines are designed to be operated with oil or water. Oil tends to work better with larger saws, such as our 10" saw, while water works better for trim saws, such as our 4", 5" and 6" saws. The preference is yours, but there are a lot of factors that play a role in this decision, such as what material you are cutting and what saw blades you are using. If you're new to lapidary, this blog will give you a basic understanding and introduction to trim saw lubricants: www.gemcutters.org/LDA/TrimSawLubricants.htmHelpful hint: If you are using water as a lubricant, we suggest adding a coolant to reduce the heat build-up between the saw blade and the stone. Some stones, such as tourmaline for example, fracture with too much heat. No one likes a fractured stone!

All of the Hi-Tech Diamond saw housings are made out of unbreakable, rust-free, cross-linked polyethylene. If your machine overheats, the saw housing can start to melt. To prevent this from happening, always remember to take time off to cool your machine. We suggest 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off to cool.

If there is excessive water spraying from the saw blade while you're cutting, this means you have too much water in the reservoir. Fill the reservoir with water (or oil) so that just the bottom of the saw blade is sitting in it, about 1/8″ deep.

Rusting occurs when the saw blade is not properly dried off after each use or if the saw blade is left sitting in the saw machine's water reservoir when not in use. The best solution to prevent rusting is to remove the saw blade from your saw machine after each use and dry with a paper towel or cloth. Remember to always keep saw blades away from children.

All Hi-Tech Diamond saw machines come with two set screws that are located in the aluminum arbor. The size of these set screws are 18-8 stainless steel, cup point, 10-32 thread, 3/16" long. They are available at your local hardware store.

Saw blades

Our notched-rim diamond saw blades are manufactured using diamond grit that is pressed into the edge of a solid steel core. They have an interrupted surface that improves cutting ability and coolant flow. This process results in a very economical and efficient cutting blade. Hi-Tech Diamond thin notched diamond saw blades and thick notched diamond saw blades are manufactured using this notched-rim process.
Our sintered diamond saw blades are manufactured using a metal-bond matrix that secures diamond grit and extends the full depth of the rim. This sintered technology allows diamonds to continuously expose the edge of the rim as the blade wears away, cut after cut, which increases the life span and durability of these saw blades. Hi-Tech Diamond thin sintered diamond saw blades and thick sintered diamond saw blades are manufactured using this sintered process.

Core is the thickness of the inside of the saw blade (the core), while kerf is the thickness of the saw blade's rim. When purchasing a saw blade, the dimension of the kerf is what matters most because the kerf determines how thick of a cut you will get. FYI - the kerf gets thinner over time as the saw blade wears away with continuous cutting.

Yes, you can sharpen sintered saw blades, but we do not recommend sharpening notched-rim or electroplated diamond saw blades. The reason why sintered saw blades need to be sharpened is because the material you are cutting with, such as rock for example, can get impregnated into the sintered matrix over time. This dulls the performance of the saw blade. By sharpening them, you are removing the rock that is impregnated into the sintered matrix and exposing more diamonds.
Sharpen your sintered saw blaes with aluminum oxide, a silicon carbide stone, dressing stick or brick. Simply run 3-4 times through the saw blade for a quick fix.

All of our diamond saw blades are designed to be used with oil or water. Never use a saw blade dry or without a proper lubricant. There are a lot of factors that play a role in what lubricant to use or what lubricant is better for your application, such as what material you are cutting and what saw machine you are using. If you are unsure of what to use, we recommend searching the internet. We found this blog to be helpful: www.gemcutters.org/LDA/TrimSawLubricants.htm

Lap machines

The All-U-Need and Slant Cabber both serve the same purpose, they are lap machines that grind and polish rocks, glass, metals and synthetic material. The only difference between these two lap machines is their design. The Slant Cabber has a unique, angled design that allows for easy viewing while you work. You can even sit while you work on the Slant Cabber! The All-U-Need has a horizontal design that gives you an overhead view while you work.

You can, but we don't recommend it. When you reuse water, you risk getting contamination on your diamond discs, thus increasing the chances of unwanted scratches on your stones. For best results, use clean water every time you work.
Helpful hint: Some of our customers have even used water filters to make sure they are using the cleanest water while they work to achieve the best results.

To prevent the drain tube from clogging on the All-U-Need, flush the white catch tray after every use by taking a small bucket of clean water and pouring the water into the catch tray so the leftover rock sediment gets flushed down the drain tube. Once you see all of the sediment gone and the white catch tray is clean, your All-U-Need will be ready for the next use.
Helpful hint: If you need to remove the white catch tray for further cleaning, do so by removing the arbor with your Allen wrench that is included with the All-U-Need.

To prevent the drain tube from clogging on the Slant Cabber, you need to keep the bottom water reservoir clean. The Slant Cabber has two water reservoirs, a top and a bottom, but you only have to keep the bottom reservoir clean because this is where the leftover rock sediment ends up. Clean the bottom water reservoir after every use by taking a small bucket of clean water and pouring it into the bottom reservoir so the leftover rock sediment gets flushed down the drain tube. Once you see all of the sediment gone and the reservoir is clean, your Slant Cabber will be ready for the next use.

If the drain tube on your All-U-Need or Slant Cabber lap machine keeps clogging with leftover rock sediment, simply flush-out the sediment with lots of clean water until the sediment gets flushed down the drain tube. If a large piece of sediment is clogged, use an air spray gun to push it out.

Polishing

The exact life expectancy of our diamond smoothing discs is immeasurable because there are different factors that play a role in this answer such as; what material you are working with, how large the material is and how you take care of your diamond smoothing discs. With extensive research that we gathered from both our customers and through in-house testing, you can expect to get 100+ stones or glass pieces out of these diamond smoothing discs, if you take proper care of them. Abide by our helpful tips below to extend the life of your diamond smoothing discs and polishing pads:
Use the whole surface of the disc. Do not use only one part of the disc, especially the middle. By doing so, that part of the disc is going to wear faster. Always move your material around the whole surface of the disc so the disc wears evenly.
Use enough water. Always make sure you are using enough water while working on our diamond smoothing discs. Using without water causes unnecessary wear on the discs and can possibly damage them. As a general safety rule, you should never use diamond products or tools without the use of water. You risk inhaling particles that can damage your lungs.
Let the disc do the work. Don't apply too much pressure when using diamond smoothing discs and polishing pads, especially if you are working on a jagged stone. This can ruin the disc or even tear it. Let the disc do the work and apply just enough pressure to your disc so it smooths rough edges away naturally.
Keep your discs dry and properly stored. When you are done using your diamond smoothing discs and polishing pads, dry them either with your lap machine by spinning them dry or lay them flat on a clean, dry surface so they can air dry naturally. Once they are dry, store them in a clean zip-lock bag until the next use. By storing them, you can prevent contamination and keep them clean.

Yes. Purchasing new backing plates for new smoothing discs, polishing pads and electroplated diamond discs is not required, if you can properly remove them from the backing plate. To remove diamond smoothing discs and polishing pads from backing plates, simply heat the surface of the diamond smoothing disc using a heat source from a hair dryer or heat gun. This takes approximately 2-3 minutes. Peel off the disc from the backing plate. If there is residual glue stuck on the backing plate, take a razor blade and scrape it off. To remove diamond lap discs, which are the electroplated diamond discs, use the same heat process as above and use a screwdriver to prop off the disc from the backing plate.Note: If for some reason you can’t remove all of the residual glue from the backing plate, we recommend purchasing a new backing plate. If the surface on the backing plate is not fully clean or smooth, this may cause new discs, pads or laps to not stick properly or lay flat on the backing plate surface, causing unwanted bumps and grooves on your work pieces.

Electroplated diamond discs are manufactured using a process that secures diamonds in a fixed position onto a nickel-bond steel plate. The diamonds are exposed, resulting in a very aggressive scratch on the surface of your material. Even in finer grits, such as our 360#, 600# and 1200#, the scratches produced by these discs will still be more aggressive than our diamond smoothing discs. This is why you won’t be able to produce a “polish” with electroplated discs because they leave a scratch that is too deep to polish out. These discs are designed to perform quick, flat grinding and are mostly used for pre-forming your work pieces and faceting applications.
Diamond smoothing discs are manufactured using a process that secures diamonds in a flexible, resin-bond formula that is then loaded onto a cloth disc. Since the diamonds are secured in a resin-bond formula, they are not stationary and, in a sense, move around when you apply your work piece to the disc. Instead of getting a hard, aggressive grind as you would with electroplated discs, you get a soft, non-aggressive grind with these smoothing discs because the diamonds are not fixed in place. This is why our 220# diamond smoothing disc gives the surface of your material a finer scratch than our 360# electroplated diamond disc. The diamonds may be rougher in the 220# pad but the resin-bond pad doesn't have stationary diamonds to give you that aggressive grind that you receive with the 360# electroplated disc. This is also why diamond smoothing discs wear out faster than electroplated discs because over time, you will lose the diamonds in the resin-bond formula where as the electroplated discs have diamonds secured by nickel on the steel plate (this doesn't go to say that electroplated discs will never wear out, they will over time because the diamonds will eventually wear down). These discs are designed for smoothing, refining and pre-polishing your work pieces.

Sponge pads are used to create a cushion that facilitates doming into cabochons. This pad is ideal for people that make cabochons on lapidary equipment, such as the All-U-Need and Slant Cabber.
How does it work? Simply place the sponge pad in-between your diamond smoothing disc and the backing plate. The sponge pad provides a cushion which helps prevent and remove flat spots from cabochons.

Tech-11 polishing pads are made of cloth and must be charged with diamond paste, cerium oxide or tin oxide before use. Final polishing pads are polishing pads that come pre-charged with cerium oxide, so you don't have to mess with slurry or pastes before use. Both of our polishing pads result in a beautiful, mirror-polish finish on stones and glass.

You can charge polishing pads, such as our Tech-11 polishing pad, with cerium oxide, tin oxide or diamond paste. If you are using cerium oxide or tin oxide as your polishing agent, you will need to create a paste out of them. For cerium oxide, simply mix with water. For tin oxide, mix with either water or a fine oil. Diamond paste is already in a paste form so there is no need for mixing. Take your polishing paste and apply a series of small dots onto the surface of the polishing pad using your finger (see image below). Once charged, you will only need to apply additional polishing paste to the pad when you notice the pad is no longer polishing your work piece.
Note: Use only one type of polishing compound per polishing pad. Do not mix different polishing compounds on the same pad.

While it isn't necessary to use water with polishing pads, we recommend keeping the Tech-11 polishing pads and final polishing pads slightly damp when you polish. Depending on the material you are polishing, your stone can overheat, getting hot to the touch due to the friction between the stone and polishing pad. As a result of the high temperature produced by the friction, you could possibly burn your fingers or, if you're using a dop stick, your stone could shift or fall off of the dop stick if the wax melts. If you are using water with your polishing pads, make sure it's clean.

Cerium oxide is usually the polish of choice for glass. Our final polishing pads are used on lap machines to polish glass and come pre-charged with cerium oxide so you don't have to mess with slurry or diamond paste. If you want to make your own cerium oxide mixture, simply mix cerium oxide with water to create a slurry (slurry means semiliquid mixture) and apply the slurry to a buffing pad, or our Tech-11 polishing pad.